{"id":11458,"date":"2026-07-20T11:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T06:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=11458"},"modified":"2026-07-20T11:00:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T06:00:24","slug":"moon-phase-today-explained-what-the-moon-will-look-like-on-july-20-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=11458","title":{"rendered":"Moon phase today explained: What the Moon will look like on July 20, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article\">\n<p>Today is International Moon Day, a day dedicated to celebrating the role the Moon has played in our understanding of space. Held each year on July 20, the event commemorates the historic Apollo 11 mission and the first time humans set foot on the Moon.<\/p>\n<p>Keep reading to see what you can spot on the Moon&#8217;s surface tonight.<\/p>\n<h2>What is today\u2019s Moon phase?<\/h2>\n<p>As of Monday, July 20, <a href=\"https:\/\/moon.nasa.gov\/moon-observation\/daily-moon-guide\/?intent=011#1767622046258::0::\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">NASA&#8217;s Daily Moon Guide<\/a> tracker tells us the <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/ispace-moon-lander-south-pole-image\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\">Moon<\/a> phase is in Waxing Crescent phase, with 38% of its surface visible. <\/p>\n<p>You won&#8217;t need any visual aids to be able to spot the Mares Crisium and Fecunditatis. Binoculars will also help you to see the Endymion Crater, Posidonius Crater, and the Mare Nectaris.<\/p>\n<p>A telescope will of course widen your visibility, with areas like the Apollo 17 and 11 landing spot, the perfect way to celebrate International Moon Day.<\/p>\n<h2>When is the next Full Moon?<\/h2>\n<p>The next Full Moon will take place on July 29.<\/p>\n<h2>What are Moon phases?<\/h2>\n<p>The Moon completes one full cycle around Earth in about 29.5 days, moving through eight different phases along the way, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\">NASA<\/a> explains. Although the same side of the Moon always faces our planet, the amount of sunlight reflecting off its surface changes as it travels around Earth. This changing angle of illumination is what makes the Moon appear to transform throughout the month, from a thin crescent to a half-lit Moon and eventually a fully illuminated Full Moon, before starting the cycle again.<\/p>\n<section x-data=\"window.newsletter({ isDeal: false })\" x-init=\"init()\" aria-label=\"Newsletter Sign-Up\" class=\"relative invisible my-12 mx-auto w-full max-w-3xl md:my-16 ziff-component accent-cut-for-gradient-bg accent-cut-border-for-gradient-bg bg-gradient-fuchsia-secondary p-[2px]\">\n<p>\n            <span class=\"text-gradient-fuchsia-secondary\">Mashable Light Speed<\/span>\n        <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>New Moon &#8211; The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it&#8217;s invisible to the eye).<\/p>\n<p>Waxing Crescent &#8211; A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).<\/p>\n<p>First Quarter &#8211; Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.<\/p>\n<p>Waxing Gibbous &#8211; More than half is lit up, but it\u2019s not quite full yet.<\/p>\n<p>Full Moon &#8211; The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.<\/p>\n<p>Waning Gibbous &#8211; The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)<\/p>\n<p>Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) &#8211; Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.<\/p>\n<p>Waning Crescent &#8211; A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today is International Moon Day, a day dedicated to celebrating the role the Moon has played in our understanding of space. Held each year on July 20, the event commemorates the historic Apollo 11 mission and the first time humans set foot on the Moon. Keep reading to see what you can spot on the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/06V8I8m8FF3OPJLYYyF87aQ\/hero-image.fill.size_1200x675.v1783937374.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}